I 

*e/w0 

A  PAPER  BY 


df^.  ^05E^T  C0F^||^  M0^|5 


(FARmeR’s  msTjTOTe  worker) 

OF 

OLH6Y,  RJCHEAKP  COUHTY,  ILLINOIS, 

ON  FERTILIZING  WITH 

<§)oja  iSean^ 

©lover  ( Leguminous  Nitrogen  Gathering  Plants) 

and  /^rticliol^e^, 

CONTRASTED  WITH 

COMMERCIAL  OR  LAND  STIMULA¬ 
TIVE  FERTILIZATION. 


This  pamphlet  will  be  sent  to  any  address  upon  receipt  of 
five  2-cent  stamps.  Address  F.  M.  Riley 
&  Co.,  Olney,  Ill. 

LILE  &  EGLESTON  PRINTING  COMPANY, 
OLNEY ;  ILLINOIS. 

1897. 


BUTLER  STREET  MILLS  AND  ELEVATOR. 

S.  C.  Wilson  &  Co.,  Proprietors. 

Oeney,  IeE.,  April  23d,  1897. 

We  have  known  the  parties  who  stand  for  the  firm  of 
F.  M.  Riley  &  Co.  for  a  number  of  years.  They  are  reliable 
and  responsible  gentlemen. 

[Signed]  S.  C.  WILSON  &  CO. 


Aden  Knoph,  Pres.  R.  N.  Stoteer,  Cashier. 

FIRST  NATIONAL  BANK. 

Oeney,  Iee.,  April  23d,  1897. 

I  have  been  acquainted  with  F.  M.  Riley  &  Co.  twenty 
years  and  have  always  found  them  trustworthy. 

[Signed]  ADEN  KNOPH,  Pres. 


It  is  common  to  say  as  to  our  reliability  we  refer  you  to 
So-and-So.  We  send  you  a  statement  of  President  Knoph  of 
the  First  National  Bank  and  the  Butler  Street  Mills  people. 
What  we  promise  will  be  faithfully  carried  out.  Any  failure 
to  receive  the  seeds  on  time  or  mistakes  will  be  ma*de 
satisfactory.  F.  M.  RILEY  &  CO. 


FERTILIZERS. 


What  is  a  fertilizer?  What  object  do  we  have  in  view 
when  we  sow  or  use  fertilizers?  If  we  have  no  other  motive 
than  to  bring  dollars  out  of  the  ground,  sowing  fertilizers  is 
no  better  than  highway  robbery. 

Commercial  fertilizers  is  commercial  selfishness.  'The 
thought  of  leaving  the  field  permanently  improved  enters  but 
few  minds.  There  are  two  kinds,  commercial  and  natural. 

Careful  inquir3T  among  those  of  our  neighbors  who  have 
tried  the  first  fails  to  find  anyone  who  keeps  up  the  practice. 
If  it  did  they  would  keep  at  it.  The  fact  that  they  do  not 
may  be  accepted  as  proof  that  in  our  soil  and  locality  it  don’t 
Have  we  any  proof  that  natural  fertilizers  pay?  We  present 
the  testimony;  you  judge.  We  suspect  a  lack  of  a  knowledge 
of  how  to  follow  it  up  is  one  cause  of  its  failure  in  our 
section.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  commercial  fertilizers  are  some¬ 
what  like  clover  seed;  there  are  certain  well-known  conditions 
of  soil  that  must  exist  to  make  the  use  of  commerctal  fertil¬ 
izers  a  success  or  profitable. 

Again  we  use  these  chemicals  without  a  correct  know¬ 
ledge  of  the  particular  element  our  soil  needs.  We  need  the 
land  doctor,  who  can  tell  from  the  color  of  the  blade  of  corn, 
wheat  or  grass.  What’s  the  type  of  sickness  our  fields  are 
suffering  with?  These  chemists  can  make  us  land  medicine, 
for  medicine  it  is.  If  the  land  was  in  a  normal  condition  we 
would  not  need  to  enrich  it. 

The  fact  that  we  must  put  something  on  or  into  our  soil 
is  an  acknowledgment  that  it  is  in  a  low  state  of  productive- 


777919 


2 


ness,  which  means  it  lacks  vitality,  is  too  weak  to  respond  to 
our  demand  for  a  paying  crop.  Land  has  conditions  that  are 
in  exact  correspondence  to  our  own  infirmities  or  sicknesses. 

We  say  So-and-so  died  with  consumption.  That  is  not 
true.  Conditions  of  the  material  body  became  such  that  the 
tenant  or  spiritual  life  could  no  longer  occupy  “this  tenement 
of  clay,”  and  the  real  man — the  mind,  memory,  intelligence, 
the  soul — took  its  flight,  and  there  was  born  into  the  unseen, 
or  real  world,  a  new  inhabitant  The  material  body  never  had 
life,  it  was  only  that  which  contained  life.  It  was  only  a 
maierial  recepticle  for  the  life  that  was  in  it.  This  is  an 
exact  corrispondence  of  the  ground. 

Our  soil  only  recieves  life,  and  is  a  medium  in  which  life 
forces  combine  and  ultimate  into  what  we  call  plant  life.  You 
may  say  such  a  farmer  is  taking  the  very  life  out  of  his  land. 
It  is  true  only  in  this  sense  and  in  this  way:  He  is  helping 
to  bring  about  conditions  that  plant  life  cannot  flourish  in, 
and  like  the  consumption,  gradually  the  soil  become  so 
devoid  of  the  ability  to  respond  to  the  demands  of  plants  and 
nothing  will  grow.  We  say  such  soil  is  dead. 

The  man  was  of  earth  earthy,  and  when  life  left  the  body 
was  literally  fulfilled;  dust  to  dust,  ashes  to  ashes.  Mother 
earth  opened  her  bosom  and  took  back  her  child. 

Nitrogen  is  a  quality  we  do  not  have  enough  of;  it  is  the 
first  thing  the  soil  loses.  Being  so  volatile,  it  escapes  into 
the  air,  and  is  a  slippery  thing  to  try  to  hold.  While  it  is  so 
hard  to  keep,  it  is  also  the  easiest  to  capture;  but  it  must 
have  conditions  exactly  suited  to  it,  or  it  quickly  escapes. 
The  air  is  composed  of  four-fifths  of  nitrogen  in  combination 
with  other  gases.  The  supply  is  inexhaustible.  -  We  live  in 
a  sea  of  nitrogen  as  the  fishes  live  in  the  sea  of  water.  In 
commercial  fertilizers  it  is  the  big  item  of  cost. 

To  reduce  it  to  a  business  basis,  will  it  pay  to  sow  from 
three  to  five  dollars  worth  to  get  two  or  three  dollars  back  in 
crops,  and  run  the  chances  of  getting  nothing,  as  a  number 
of  our  farmers  have  experienced. 

There  is  another  way  of  securing  nitrogen  that  is  more 
rational  to  us,  because  it  is  following  nature.  Working  from 
in  to  out .  It  follows  the  plan  that  made  the  land,  and  it  also 


3 

simplifies  and  cheapens  the  cost.  From  this  source  it  will 
cost  almost  nothing. 

To  restore  a  thing  to  health  is  to  restore  former  conditions 
of  health.  When  the  work  can  be  accomplished  upon  the 
lines  used  by  nature  in  the  first  building  seems  commendable 

Then  we  come  to  the  question  by  what  means  shall  we 
build  up  our  sickly,  exhausted  soils?  The  soil  we  know  is 
made  out  of  decayed  vegetable,  mineral  and  organic  life. 
Plants  and  minute  insect  life  that  fills  the  soil  where  vege¬ 
table  matter  is  decaying.  So  numerous  is  this  form  of 
organic  life  that  millions  give  up  life  every  second  in  an  acre 
of  rich  land.  Every  footstep  on  a  soft,  spongy  soil  destroys 
millions  of  lives.  The  cycle  of  their  life  is  very  short.  They 
multiply  in  a  ratio  the  mind  can  hardly  grasp. 

The  growth  of  wheat,  corn,  oats  or  timothy  is  largely  fed 
by  the  work  of  this  countless  horde:  But  these  plants  are 
parasitical  in  their  habits.  They  take  almost  everything 
that  enters  into  their  structure  out  of  the  soil.  They  have  no 
power  to  draw  but  a  minute  part  of  their  bulk  from  the  air, 
and  as  a  result  they  draw  most  of  the  nitrogen  they  use  from 
the  soil,  and  thus  the  soil  is  depleted  where  they  grow.  They 
are  termed  exhaustive  crops;  opposed  to  them  is  a  class  of 
plants  called  leguminous  or  nitrogen  gatherers. 

In  their  growth  the  nitrogen  they  need  is  absorbed  from 
the  “sea  of  nitrogen”  above  to  soil.  They  also  have  the 
power  to  put  into  the  soil  in  which  they  develop  a  quantity  of 
nitrogen  only  limited  by  the  conditions  under  which  they 
grow.  Take  a  clover,  bean  or  pea  vine  root  and  you  will 
find  it  is  rough  with  little  nodules  or  shot-like  pertrubances. 
These  are  composed  of  almost  pure  nitrogen,  which  is  left  in 
the  soil  for  succeeding  crops  to  feed  upon.  This  is  the  wrork 
of  minute  bacteria  life  that  has  the  power  to  wound  the  roots 
and  suck  the  sap  and  out  of  it  and  with  air  manufacture  their 
little  homes,  “crystal  palaces’  ’  of  almost  pure  nitgrogen.  The 
number  on  an  acre  of  leguminous  plants  could  not  be  com¬ 
prehended  by  the  human  mind.  These  silent  busy  friends  of 
the  farmer  labor  unceasingly  during  the  short  period  of  their 
life’s  cycle.  The  discovery  of  this  bacteria  is  only  a  few 
years  old.  It  has  been  long  known  clover  was  a  crop  that 


4 

left  land  in  better  condition  than  when  seeded,  especially  for 
crops  that  followed  it,  but  why  was  not  known. 

There  are  three  principal  plants  of  the  leguminous  family. 
We  will  notice  in  the  order  in  which  they  come  into  our 
knowledge,  clover,  cow  peas  and  soja  beans.  I  am  indebted 
for  very  many  of  the  most  useful  facts  in  this  paper  to  Prof. 
W.  C.  Stubs,  Director  of  the  Louisiana  Experiment  Station. 

VARIETIES. 

It  is  estimated  that  there  is  over  one  hundred  varieties, 
all  the  result  of  a  mixing  of  three  original  kinds,  white, 
black  and  red.  These  varieties  have  special  qualities,  very 
much  like  apples;  some  early,  some  late,  some  of  high 
quality,  some  poor  in  quality,  some  almost  bunch  peas, 
some  enormous  viners,  and  adapted  to  different 
soils  as  well.  To  the  inexperienced  grower  this  is  a 
matter  ,of  vital  importance .  A  knowledge  of  the  varieties 
suited  to  certain  latitudes  and  soils  is  absolutely  necessary; 
without  such  knowledge  much  loss  and  disappointment  will 
result. 

This  list  embraces  some  of  the  very  choicest  varieties, 
but  for  Indiana,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Ohio  and  Missouri  at 
present  they  are  not  profitable.  These  varieties  will  no  doubt 
become  acclimated  in  a  few  years.  But  those  who  want  to 
plant  for  profit  will  do  well  to  take  the  advice  offered  in  this 
pamphlet.  The  kinds  we  know  to  be  suited  to  our  northern 
climate  are  named  in  the  order  of  their  value  as  to  a  seed 
crop,  for  hay,  or  soil  restorers. 

The  Black,  or  “nigger  pea,”  is  the  richest  and  best  of 
all  the  cow-pea  family.  It  is  a  rank  grower,  makes  lots  of 
vines,  is  the  pea  for  August  and  September  pasture,  wants 
fairly  good  ground,  is  medium  early,  makes  a  great  crop  of 
seed,  very  rich  in  quality. 

The  “little  black  eye”  is  almost  a  perfect  bunch  pea  in 
dry  seasons;  in  wet  weather  vines  quite  a  good  deal.  It  is 
essentially  “the  hog  pea”  for  an  early  crop.  Planted  in 
warm  ground  May  20th,  they  have  matured  on  the  writer’s 
farm  in  40  days  enough  to  turn  hogs  in  to  pasture  them  off. 
They  are  not  a  good  hay  pea.  The  seed  shatters  out  very 
badly  when  they  are  dry. 


The  whipoorwill  is  the  most  popular  cow  pea,  but  isony 
half  as  rich  in  quality  as  the  black.  It  is  a  very  valuable 
variety.  It  has  one  especially  valuable  quality.  The  seed 
Is  very  hard  to  get  out  of  the  pods;  does  not  shatter  out  in 
feeding.  It  will  grow  on  very  poor  land;  we  call  it  in  this 
country  “poor  w&n's  and  poor  land  clover.” 

These  varieties  the  writer  knows  of  personally .  There 
are  no  doubt  in  other  localities  other  varieties  of  merit,  but 
he  don’t  know  it,  and  this  paper  is  put  out  to  be  a  reliable 
guide  to  those  who  want  reliable  information  upon  these  new 
crops.  Every  statement  made  is  upon  growing  these  plants, 
or  watching  them  in  the  fields  of  my  neighbors. 

About  six  years  ago  some  good  farmers  in  this  county 
were  making  money  raising  stock  peas  and  hoging  them  off 
on  the  land.  A  careful  investigation  showed  the  secret  of 
their  success.  These  plants  were  of  the  clover  family,  and 
when  a  crop  of  seed  was  eaten  off  in  the  field  by  the  hogs  all 
the  waste  except  what  actually  became  part  of  the  hog  was 
put  right  back  on  the  land.  The  hog  became  a  wonderful 
instrument;  he  was  a  harvester,  a  feeder,  a  manure  spreader 
and  a  land  improver  all  in  one.  These  fields  made  ideal  seed 
beds  for  wheat  or  grass,  and  the  enriching  from  the  hogs  was 
better  and  cheaper  than  costly-  fertilizers.  The  only  work  to 
get  the  seed  bed,  ready  was  going  over  the  pea  stubble  with  a 
disc  or  spring  tooth  harrow.  The  seed  had  the  stimulus  of 
the  manure,  a  loose  fine  top  soil  and  a  hard  under  soil,  and 
the  wheat  did  not  freeze  out.  The  nitrogen  of  the  pea  roots 
supplied  that  costly  need,  and  these  men  were  making  money 
in  a  sensible  quiet  kind  of  a  way. 

We  have  watched  the  agricultural  press,  and  when  a 
writer  who  gave  evidence  of  more  than  average  farm  intelli¬ 
gence  wrote  on  these  plants  we  have  corresponded  with  them, 
and  thus  have  hundreds  of  letters  that  bring  us  the  most 
advanced  thought  and  newest  experience  in  the  growth,  cul¬ 
tivation,  methods  of  piauting,  harvesting,  saving  for  hay  or 
seed.  Also  the  bulletins  of  the  experiment  stations  of  the 
different  states  have  been  drawn  upon.  The  concentrated 
evidence  of  sll  these  sources  is  laid  before  you. 

We  will  grow  the  season  of  1897  about  100  acres  of  peas 


6 

and  soja  beans  out  of  160,  divided  as  follows; 

Five  acres  of  whi  poor  will  for  early  feeding,  green  or  dry , 

Ten  acres  of  little  black  eye  for  early  hog  4  feed.  They 
will  enable  us  to  stop  buying  corn  at  the  season  it  is  generally 
the  highest— the  latter  part  of  June  and  July.  They  are  a 
very  much  healthier  hog  feed  in  hot  weather  than  corn.  We 
do  not  fear  cholera. 

Twenty  acres  of  black  peas  for  pasture  in  August  and 
September.  They  make  wonderful  pasture. 

Twenty-five  acres  of  dwarf  soja  beans.  A  very  early 
variety  and  enormous  yielder  of  seed. 

Forty  acres  of  medium  soja  beans,  that  will  make  more 
bushels  of  seed  oil  thill  land  than  com. 

Ten  acres  of  artichokes.  We  raise  lots  of  hogs;  when 
we  have  artichokes  we  have  healthy  hogs.  They  will  yield 
from  600  to  1000  bushels  per  acre.  The  feeding  value  of  the 
artichoke  is  the  same  as  potatoes;  but  the  sugar  (fat)  in  the 
potato  is  in  the  shape  of  starch,  and  must  be  converted  into 
sugar  in  the  animal's  stomach,  while  the  sweetness  of  the 
artichoke  is  in  the  shape  of  syrup,  or  already  to  digest. 

They  are  a  condiment  or  aid  to  digestion.  All  fowls  and 
farm  animals  are  ravenously  fond  of  them.  Like  the  pea  the 
hogs  root  for  them  in  the  field.  Frost  does  not  hurt  them. 
Sheep  seem  more  fond  of  them  than  anything  you  can  put  in 
their  feed  box. 

Ten  acres  of  Canada  field  peas  and  oats.  This  will  be  a 
new  crop  to  us;  but  if  they  do  well  will  be  cut  green  or  in 
dough  and  run  through  a  cutting  box  after  they  are  thorough¬ 
ly  cured  for  winter  feed. 

Fifteen  acres  to  oats,  in  which  we  will  sow  dwarf  essex 
rope  for  a  pasture  after  the  oats  is  harvested.  This  will  also 
be  a  new  departure. 

Twenty -five  acres  to  pasture,  five  acres  for  truck  garden 
makes  the  160;  not  a  hill  of  field  corn  you  will  observe.  We 
can't  afford  to  raise  corn  on  our  prairie  land;  it  is  an  exhaust¬ 
ive  crop.  While  130  acres  of  the  160  will  be  in  crops  that 
gather  from  the  air  and  go  deep  into  the  subsoil  for  the  plant 
food  they  consume  while  growing  to  maturity.  We  buy  our 
corn  and  wheat  from  our  neighbors  who  are  foolish  enough 


7 

to  sell.  They  sell  us  the  cream  from  their  fields. 

Observe  we  grow  65  acres  of  soja  beans  and  but  35  of  peas 
of  all  kinds.  We  do  this  because  we  have  found  them 
worthy  of  such  a  preference,  r 

As  has  been  said  peas  are  liable  to  injury  by  wet 
weather,  and  do  net  seed  well  on  rich  ground.  The  bean  on 
the  other  hand  will  stand  more  wet  weather  than  corn  or  any 
farm  crop,  and  stands  drougth  as  well  as  the  pea.  A  case  in 
point:  In  the  latter  part  of  June  and  early  part  of  July,  1896 
a  field  of  soja  beans  on  very  flat  prairie  land  stood  (one-third 
of  it)  in  water  three  weeks.  Corn  on  our  neighbor’s  land 
alongside  of  it  scalded  so  badly  that  it  made  a  fourth  of  a 
crop.  Peas  on  the  other  side  on  our  own  ground  rotted  so 
they  were  not  worth  harvesting.  The  beans  held  their  own 
until  the  soil  got  dry  enough  when  the  cultivators  were  put 
to  work  and  the  field  made  a  crop  worth  $30  per  acre.  This 
qualit}'  is  an  important  factor  in  laying  out  our  crops  for  the 
season. 

The  soja  bean  is  comparitively  a  new  forage  crop.  It  is 
a  native  of  Japan.  It  has  very  many  points  of  superiority  to 
either  clover  or  cow  peas,  either  as  a  hay  crop  or  seed  crop, 
or  as  a  soil  restorer.  Having  tried  all  of  them  I  feel  compe¬ 
tent  to  advise  others. 

As  a  soil  restorer  Mr.  J.  E.  Peneroyer,  of  Norwood  Park, 
Ill.,  writes  me:  “They  made  a  tremendous  growth  of  tops. 
The  plow  pulled  up  many  tap  roots  broken  off  18  to  24  inches 
under  the  soil.  Don’t  know  how  much  deeper  these  roots 
went  into  the  subsoil  for  mineral  plant  food.  The  top  or 
lateral  feeding  roots  were  literally  matted  in  the  top  soil. 
Planted  May  20th,  plowed  under  September  20th,  1896.” 

Mr.  Jas.  Bellwood,  of  Virginia,  writes  me:  “I  have 
threshed  over  100  bushels  of  seed  from  one  acre  of  soja  beans 
grown  upon  rich  river  bottom  land.” 

Mr.  Jackson,  of  the  Southern  Planter,  Richmond,  Va., 
says:  “I  have  seen  a  field  of  soja  bean  that  would  average 
six  feet  in  heigtlr  and  I  have  seen  them  in  a  field  where 
the  water  stood  on  the  ground  for  some  weeks.  The  corn  in 
the  fields  adjoining  wa  drowned  out,  but  the  beans  came 
through  when  good  weather  set  in  and  made  a  good  crop!” 


8 

S.  C.  Wilson,  of  Olney,  Ill.,  had  80  breeding  ewes  in 
two  flocks,  winter  of  1895-6.  The  flock  fed  soja  bean  hay 
sheared  an  average  of  eight  pounds;  the  flock  fed  clover  hay 
six  pounds,  showing  the  value  of  the  great  percent  of  protien 
(wool  making)  quality  in  the  bean  hay. 

The  soja  bean  will  stand  eiiher  wet  or  dry  weather.  The 
pea  stands  dry  but  will  not  do  well  in  wet  weather.  They 
vine  excessively  when  the  ground  is  leaj-cnably  vet,  and  lot 
very  easily  and  quickly  if  it  is  very  wet. 

Peas  vine  or  trail  on  the  ground  and  interlace  while 
growing,  are  difficult  to  harvest,  handle  and  feed.  The  bean 
(one  name  for  it  is  tree  bean)  grows  like  a  bush,  never  vines, 
and  holds  its  leaves  well  up  off  the  ground.  The  quality  of 
the  hay  is  very  much  richer  than  pea  hay,  while  the  seed  is 
the  richest  in  fat  of  anything  that  grows  in  the  shape  of  farm 
crops.  To  illustrate:  Corn  has  four  and  one-half  pounds  of 
fat  per  feushel;  soja  beaas  sixteen  and  seven-tenths  pounds  of 
fat  per  bushel. 

Peas  are  subject  to  pea  bugs,  that  often  destroy  a  crop  in 
the  straw  or  in  the  bin..  The  bean  is  bug  proof,  chinch  bugs 
do  not  molest  either,  so  far  no  insect  has  molested  them 
while  growing  in  our  county. 

One  more  point  and  I  dismiss  this  part  of  my  subject. 
Peas  vine  excessively  on  rich  spots  or  soil,  and  make  but  very 
little  seed.  But  on  poor  land  they  make  but  few  vines  and 
seed  freely. 

Soja  beans  will  grow  as  many  bushels  of  seed  as  corn  on 
the  same  quality  of  soil.  They  will  do  well  on  poor  soil, 
grow  profitably  on  any  kind,  while  no  soil  is  too  rich  for  them. 
Both  the  bean  and  pea  will  grow  on  land  that  clover  will  not 
do  well  on  at  all. 

The  habit  of  growth  of  these  plants,  soja  beans,  both  as 
to  top  and  roots  is  all  that  could  be  desired  as  a  fertilizer. 
The  leaves  are  large,  giving  great  surface  to  act  as  nitrogen 
and  electricity  gatherers.  The  roots  will  penetrate  a  soil  so 
hard  common  farm  crops  cannot  go  into.  I11  the  matter  of 
leaves  the  bean  has  very  much  more  leaf  foliage  than  the  pea. 

We  have  two  classes  of  crops  to  choose  from,  the  one 
class,  wheat,  corn  and  grass,  all  hard  on  land;  the  other, 


9 

peas  and  beans,  that  enrich  land.  The  one  we  sell  off  the 
farm;  the  other  must  be  fed  on  the  farm  to  get  the  best  results. 

Commercial  fertilizers  is  cash  money,  and  if  sown  with 
wheat  the  farmer  runs  a  great  risk  from  winter  killing,  the 
fly  and  the  chinch  bug,  and  will  be  out  the  use  of  his  money 
about  one  year.  The  cost  is  great,  the  risk  greater,  the 
result  is  doubtful .  No  permanent  benefit  follows.  It  is  an 
unnatural  proceeding,  and  won’t  pay  at  present  prices  of 
grain  crops. 

To  fertilize  with  leguminous  plants  is  a  natural,  rational 
wav.  You  put  more  nitrogen  into  your  soil  than  you  could 
possibly  afford  to  sow.  The  crop  of  hay,  beans  or  peas  will 
pay  for  the  labor  and  expense,  and  your  plant  food  is  a  gift . 
Not  only  that.  The  one  puts  no  vegetable  matter  into  the 
soil;  the  other  fills  the  ground  full  of  carbonicious  substances 
that  makes  hurnas,  loosens  up  the  soil,  holds  moisture,  in¬ 
duces  fermentation,  and  that  creates  combustion,  or  heat. 

The  one,  you  must  get  money  out  of  the  Bank  to  pay  for; 
the  other  a  gift  of  God’s  providence. 

The  one  is  doubtful,  the  other  certain.  The  one  the 
result  of  hard  labor  to  earn  money  to  buy;  the  other  of  its 
own  accord  enters  your  soil. 

The  one  you  can’t  afford;  the  other  you  can’t  afford  not 
to.  The  one  adds  to  the  risk  and  burden;  the  other  opens  a 
simple  way  to  lift  your  burden  and  avoid  the  risk. 

The  one  makes  a  rich  manufactor;  the  other  makes 
chances  for  more  good  farmers. 

The  one  obeys  natural  laws,  working  from  in  to  out ;  the 
other  the  laws  of  human  selfishness. 

The  fact  that  it  takes  fourteen  months  to  make  a  crop  of 
clover  hay,  and  is  attended  with  great  risk  as  to  a. catch,  and 
the  still  more  important  thing,  that  clover  is  only  reasonably 
sure  on  reasonably  fertile  timber  or  second  bottom  lands;  the 
uncertainty  as  to  a  crop;  the  limited  amount  of  land  suitable 
for  its  growth,  the  time  the  land  must  be  occupied;  that  it 
must  take  the  haggard  of  two  winters,  are  practical,  reason¬ 
able  odjections  to  it  as  a  dependence  on  any  but  suitable  land. 
Then  to  this  add  that  it  will  not  grow  at  all  on  what  we  call 
poor  land;  is  a  failure  on  all  prairie  soils.  The  question  nat- 


IO 

urally  asks  itself,  have  we  anything  else  that  is  better?  We 
offer  our  suggestions  based  upon  personal  experience,  an 
extensive  correspondence,  and  the  work  of  several  State 
Experiment  Stations. 

The  soja  bean  we  offer  as  the  best  leguminous  plant  of 
three  land  improvers;  the  cow  pea  second,  and  clover  third. 

Why  the  bean  first?  Its  adaptability  to  the  greatest 
range  of  soils — none  too  poor,  none  too  rich;  will  stand  wet 
weather  that  would  rot  peas  or  clover. 

Will  stand  dry  weather  or  a  protracted  drouth  better 
than  peas  or  clover.  Growing  up  off  the  ground  it  gives  op¬ 
portunity  for  the  greatest  leaf  development  of  any  plant  we 
know  of. 

The  stiff  upright  growth  gives  a  chance  to  cultivate  close 
up  to  the  young  plants  and  keep  down  the  weeds.  About 
two  cultivations  is  all  we  have  been  able  to  give  ours.  They 
grow  so  rapidly  that  they  smother  all  crab  grass  and  weeds. 

Pulling  the  interlaced  pea  vines  apart  strips  nearly  all 
the  leaves  off  the  vines  and  they  are  lost  and  the  value  of  the 
hay  impaired.  (See  what  will  be  said  by  Louisiana  Experi¬ 
ment  Station. ) 

The  bean  requires  more  time  to  mature  than  the  pea: 
about  90,  days  for  hay,  120  for  seed.  The  plant 
is  fully  grown  when  the  blossoms  first  show.  In  48  hours 
four-fifths  of  all  its  bloom  wrill  burst  open.  This  is  the  stage 
to  cut  for  hay.  It  will  cure  out  and  no  part  become  woody. 
This  idea  comes  from  the  North  Carolina  Experiment  Sta¬ 
tion.  The  only  possible  objection  we  could  find  to  them  as  a 
forage  was  the  coarse  woody  stem.  We  had  been  letting 
them  stand  until  the  pods  had  well  formed  beans.  (We  note 
this  information  with  great  pleasure.) 

When  cut  for  hay  rain  does  not  injure  it  as  it  does  peas 
or  clover.  In  October,  1896,  our  boys  finished  cutting  six 
acres  of  a  heavy  crop  on  Thursday.  The  following  Saturday 
night  it  began  raining  aad  rained  four  days  and  nights 
almost  continuously. 

As  soon  as  possible  they  were  gathered  into  small  bunches 
and  when  dry  were  put  up  with  almost  no  loss  of  leaves. 
Pea$  in  the  neighborhood  that  were  exposed  to  this  rain  were 


so  badly  rotted  as  to  be  worthless. 

Their  value  as  a  feed  crop  is  away  above  peas  or  clover. 
Protien — beans  34.05;  peas  24.84.  Fat — beans  16.7;  black 
(the  richest  pea)  4.08. 

The  farmer  needs  no  new  tools  to  begin  to  use  these 
plants.  For  soja  beans  and  peas  the  ground  should  be  well 
plowed  and  pulverized.  The  bean  ought  to  be  planted  by 
the  first  to  fifteenth  of  May,  the  pea  not  earlier  than  Ma)T  20, 
to  June  and  July.  They  are  not  so  hardy  and  want  warmer 
soil.  ( 

We  use  a  marker  that  has  three  runners,  thirty  inches 
apart  between  rows.  Set  the  gear  of  your  corn  drill  to  drop 
16  inches  betv/een  grains — they  will  bunch  a  little  but  it  will 
do  no  harm:  12  inches  for  peas  (they  want  to  be  thicker  than 
beans.)  When  the  first  true  leaves  get  well  developed  we  go 
through  and  cultivate,  and  as  often  after  that  as  we  can; 
when  the  plants  are  well  grown.  .  We  do  not  work  them 
when  they  are  wet  with  either  dew  or  rain. 

We  use  in  harvesting  the  beans  a.  Buckeye  table  rake, 
cutting  one  row  at  a  time;  let  the  bunches  lay  three  or  four 
days,  then  put  three  or  four  together  on  a  fresh  spot  so  they 
will  all  be  moved;  let  them  stay  two  or  three  days;  then 
double  the  bunches,  and  when  fully  dry  haul  in. 

They  are  hard  to  stack  and  ought  to  be  put  under  cover. 
Cut  when  in  blossom  for  hay;  for  seed  let  them  stand  until 
the  field  stands  the  most  beautiful  yellow  you  ever  saw,  and 
treat  as  to  curing  the  same  as  for  hay.  Any  separator  will 
thresh  them  the  same  as  wheat.  To  fix  it  to  thresh  take  ten 
old  teeth  and  cut  them  off  so  they  will  only  stick  up  and  and 
one-half  inches  from  the  face  of  the  concave,  five  in  each  row. 
Set  the  concave  down  so  these  stubs  do  not  come  nearer  than 
one-lialf  or  five-eights  of  an  inch  to  the  cylinder  teeth,  and 
you. will  have  no  split  beans.  Much  of  the  splitting  of  cow 
peas  is  by  the  concave  and  cylinder  teeth  passing  too  close. 
Thresh  beans  when  they  are  dry ,  peas  when  they  are  damp . 

Our  seed  crop  was  cut  when  the  leaves  were  yellow:  very 
few  dropped  off.  The  threshed  straw  is  the  very  best  winter 
roughness  for  stock  we  have  ever  had.  Our  cattle  are  licking 
themselves;  our  horses  are  fat  and  the  hair  laying  smooth  and 


12 


has  that  glossy  appearance,  indicating  a  healthy  condition  of 
digestion,  and  freedom  from  constipation  so  common  at  this 
vSeason  of  the  year  among  farm  animals. 

This  paper  is  not  for  those  who  know  how  to  build  up 
and  keep  up  land,  but  for  those  who  are  today  face  to  face 
with  farm  conditions  that  must  be  changed.  Further  deple¬ 
tion  of  the  soil  must  be  stopped ,  and  a  system  of  farming 
adopted  that  will  build  up  the  farm  as  well  as  mend  the  for¬ 
tune  of  the  owner. 

Farmers  want  to  raise  ‘‘mortgage  lifters”  and  sheriff 
stoppers,  and  tax  payers  and  comfort  givers.  Ten  cent  oats, 
sixteen  cent  corn  and  fifty  cent  wheat  would  ruin  ninety  per 
cent  of  the  farmers  if  kept  up  five  years.  But  ten  cent-  oats 
put  into  calves  or  pigs  with  pork  at  three  cents  will  bring  up 
the  ten  cent  oats  to  thirty  cents;  sixteen  cent  corn  in  calves, 
pigs  or  beef  means  thirty  to  forty  cent  corn.  Fifty  cent 
wheat  fed  means  with  stock  at  present  prices,  seventy-five  to 
eighty-five  cents*,  according  to  the  skill  of  the  feeder. 

These  peas  and  beans  represent  the  crossing  of  the  river 
Jordan,  putting  aside -past  conditions,  establishing  a  monu¬ 
ment  that  a  higher  type  of  life  is  determined  upon.  Like  the 
crossing  of  this  river  all  is  in  a  turbulent  condition,  but  He 
who  rules  the  world  will  part  the  waters  (separate  the  diffi¬ 
culties)  and  the  task  is  not  so  hard. 

Grover  Cleveland  did  not  do  it,  Mr.  McKinley  cannot  do 
it,  Bryanism  would  probably  have  plunged  us  in  still  deepe r 
distress.  But  there  is  a  way  that  will  bring  contentment, 
peace  and  prosperity. 

Let  each  individual  farmer  set  to  work  to  put  his  own 
house  in  order.  Abandon  the  idea  that  relief  will  come 
through  political  channels  except  as  political  wisdom  is  used 
as  an  aid.  Take  up  the  subject  of  how  can  /  better  my  con¬ 
dition.  Not  from  the  standpoint  of  selfishness,  but  as  one 
who  will  set  an  example  to  my  fellow  farmers;  helping  the 
neighbor  is  the  surest  and  quickest  way  to  help  yourself. 

All  over  this  beautiful  land  of  ours  a  pall  hangs  over  the 
farming  classes.  Study  the  principles  that  are  the  foundation 
stones  upon  which  farm  industries  are  builded.  Not  one 
farmer  in  fifty  has  a  correct  idea  of  how  to  feed  corn.  Corn 


13 

was  a  good  feed  for  the  razor-back  hog  or  the  scrub  cow,  but 
the  breeder  has  placed  in  the  farmer’s  hands  an  entirely 
different  animal. 

The  fine  bred  hog,  or  cow,  or  beef  has  a  much  larger 
stomach,  larger  lungs,  longer  intestines.  Its  no  wonder 
there  is  hog  cholera.  The  farmer  throws  out  corn  to  this 
finely  bred,  delicately  organized  hog:  by  the  very  nature  of 
its  breeding  it  is  fitted  to  consume  more  food  than  the  razor 
back.  He  crowds  its  stomach  full  of  strong  heating  corn. 

The  powers  of  digestion  that  had  been  developed  by  the 
breeders  on  a  diet  consisting  of  bran ,  ship  stuff \  oil  cake ,  clover 
and  a  little  corn,  is  put  in  a  dry  lot  and  stuffed  with  nothing 
but  corn.  Digestion  is  impaired  and  a  condition  brought 
about  that  when  the  germs  of  hog  diseases  get  a  lodgment 
the  whole  head  dies  off,  and  we  call  it  cholera. 

We  protest  against  the  use  of  the  name  cholera  in  that 
way,  and  suggest  that  more  hogs  die  from  dyspepsia  every 
year  than  from  true  '‘hog  cholera.”  The  proposition  is  per¬ 
fectly  reasonable. 

The  same  criticism  may  be  made  as  to  beef  or  cattle 
feeding.  No  wonder  Germany  does  not  like  American  pork. 
Go  into  the  slaughter  houses  where  exclusively  corn  fed  hogs 
are  killed  and  not  one  liver  in  a  thousand  but  has  ‘‘liver 
worms”  or  diseased  spots  in  the  tissue  of  the  liver.  If  the 
liver  is  diseased  the  blood  of  the  hog  is  diseased,  if  the  blood 
is  diseased  the  meat  is  diseased  and  cannot  be  fit  to  eat.  No 
wonder  lard  won’t  keep  long  in  hot  weather  now  days. 
Probably  not  one  pound  of  lard  in  ten  thousand  but  is  mixed 
with  diseased  pork.  Who  is  to  blame?  The  farmer.  Can 
this  be  helped?  Yes  and  a  surer  and  safer  industry  be  the 
result. 

We  find  that  hogs  raised  upon  lines  such  as  they  have 
been  bred  upon — mixed  feed — having  plenty  of  bone,  sinew, 
lean  meat,  hair,  all  that  part  that  relates  to  the  activities  of  a 
hog’s  life,  have  no  ‘‘liver  worms,”  have  no  ‘‘liver  spots,”  no 
congested  bloody  ‘‘lights,”  but  all  the  internal  organs  are 
normal  and  healthy.  Such  meat  is  healthy;  lard  made  from 
such  hogs  will  keep  indefinitely.  Hog  cholera  may  rage  all 
around  such  a  herd  and  not  a  sick  porker.  In  the  lesser  risk 


x4 

is  an  insurance  of  safety,  and  surer  and  safer  profit. 

We  can't  help  breathing  too  much  tainted  air;  we  can 
help  swallowing  disease  germs. 

Can  pork  be  raised  that  has  absolutely  healthy  livers  and 
lights,  free  from  evidence  of  disease?  We  used  to  raise 
“liver  worms’7  and  “mush  spots.”  We  will  pay  $5  in  gold 
for  all  such  evidences  of  disease  in  a  hog  of  our  raising  as  we 
now  feed.  We  give  you  our  plan;  try  it. 

When  the  pig  is  three  da)^s  old  we  begin  to  make  pork 
out  of  him.  The  first  three  weeks  through  his  mother' s  milk . 
At  that  age  he  will  begin  to  eat.  We  cut  off  a  portion  of  the 
sow’s  pen  and  have  a  pig  trough  the  sow  can’t  get  at,  begin¬ 
ning  gradually  t.6  feed  the  little  fellows  a  slop  made  up  of 
low  grade  middlings,  oats  and  peas,  when  we  have  them. 
Feeding  the  sow  all  the  rich  slop  she  can  eat.  (If  we  have 
milk  we  mix  the  pig’s  slop  with  milk)  and  some  corn.  Our 
aim  is  to  have  the  sow  weigh  as  much  when  she  weans  her 
pigs  as  when  they  were  farrowed.  We  raise  two  litters  a 
year  from  each  sow.  It  has  been  said  that  the  day  a  pig 
squeals  for  something  to  eat  you  have  lost  five  cents  on  him. 

We  feed  our  growing  hogs  ship  stuff  and  bran  every  day. 
The  mixture  we  have  found  that  almost  splits  the  hide  on  the 
backs  of  growing  hogs  is  one  bushel  of  corn,  two  bushels  of 
oats,  two  bushels  of  peas  or  one  of  soja  beans,  ground  fine 
and  mixed  with  an  equal  bulk  of  middlings  and  bran  half 
and  half.  This  mixture  gives  bulk  to  the  growing  hog. 
When  the  pigs  get  to  weighing  about  150  pounds  we  begin 
to  increase  the  corn  diet;  it  will  astonish  you  how  quickly 
they  will  fat  down.  We  sell  when  the  average  is  from  175 
to  200  pounds.  We  are  making  a  good  profit  on  3  cent  hogs. 

The  above  is  good  hog  feeding  sense  to  those  who  are 
not  pea,  bean  and  artichoke  feeders.  We  know  that  is  the 
way  we  began  our  hog  feeding  business;  but  we  have 
advanced  away  beyond  that.  We  will  give  you  how  we  do 
it  now. 

In  April  we  plant  artichokes;  they  are  fit  to  feed  in 
October  and  all  winter;  fence  off  a  small  plat  at  a  time  and 
let  the  hogs  root  for  them. 

About  May  1st  plant  dwarf  soja  beans  and  they  will  do 


for  hogs  just  after  the  '‘black  eye”  is  g;qn&'.\  Alk^  at  the 
same  time  the  medium  soja  bean;  they  follow  the  d^varf.  We 
have  our  hogs  on  peas  and  beans  from  about  July  15th  to 
mid-winter. 

About  May  20th  we  plant  one-tliird  of  our  ground  in¬ 
tended  for  hay-feeding  in  black  eyed  (home  grown)  peas  for 
earliest  feed.  While  on  peas  a  little  corn  is  good,  but  when 
on  beans  do  not  need  corn,  as  the  bean  is  very  rich  in  fat . 
Plenty  of  good  water,  and  salt,  sulphur  and  charcoal  always 
where  they  can  get  at  it.  Plenty  of  shade  sheds,  so  they  can 
get  out  of  the  very  hot  midda}"  sun. 

You  probably  think  you  have  seen  pigs  grow,  but  when 
pigs  raised  as  I  have  told  you  how  to  raise  them  are  turned 
into  a  pea  or  bean  field  then  you  will  see  how  fast  a  pig  can 
change  into  a  hog. 

A  few  words  on  the  subject  of  the  value  of  soja  beans  as 
feed,  the  yield,  etc.: 

Coburn’s  work  on  “Swine  Husbandry”  says:  “Soja 
beans  are,  in  our  judgment,  the  very  best  crop  for  hogs. 
They  make  the  firmest  and  fattest  pork  of  any  feed  we  know 
of.”  Our  own  experience  confirms  this. 

The  fall  of  ’96  we  left  a  patch  of  soja  beans  standing  in 
the  field.  January  1st,  ’97,  they  were  still  standing  and  the 
beans  still  locked  tight  in  the  pods.  This  season  we  shall 
plant  a  few  acres  late,  and  at  last  cultivation  sow  rye.  The 
beans  and  rye  ought  to  make  an  ideal  feed  for  brood  sows 
and  young  pigs  next  winter. 

The  report  of  the  Louisiana  Station  says:  “The  value 
of  the  leaf,  leaf  stem,  vines  or  stems  and  the  seed  is  as  follows 
of  cow  peas: 


Leaves, 

protien  18.84, 

fat  6.71, 

nitrogen, 

3.01 

Leaf  stems 

“  6.12, 

“  2.16, 

<  < 

.98 

Stems  and  vines, 

“  5-87, 

oc 

t  < 

•93 

Peas  (seed) 

“  24.84, 

“  1. 21, 

<  < 

3-97 

An  article  in  the  Chicago  Inter-Ocean  in  February,  1896 
gave  the  value  of  the  soja  bean  (seed):  Protien  34.00;  fat 
16.07,  nitrogen  not  given.  Supposing  the  leaves  and  stems 
to  be  equal  the  value  of  the  bean  is  very  much  richer.  It 
proves  why,  as  Coburn  says,  they  make  such  fat  pork.  This 


i6 

table  is  very  valuable,  and  shows  the  importance  of  saving 
the  leaves  when  cut  for  forage.  The  leaves  and  leaf  stems 
are  worth  more,  pound  for  pound,  than  the  seed. 

The  Delaware  Experiment  tests  show  bean  and  pea  hay 
worth  more  ton  for  ton  than  wheat  bran,  as  a  milk  feed.  Now 
can  the  farmer  who  must  buy  mill  feed  for  his  cows  afford  to 
pay  $12  to  $14  a  ton  for  it  when  he  can  raise  a  better  feed  for 
$2.50  per  ton? 

Davis  Bros.,  Wayne  Co.,  Ill.,  make  this  report:  “We 
milk  about  twenty  cows,  and  feed  them  ten  to  twelve  pounds 
bran  per  day.  We  base  feeding  value  of  soja  beans 
upon  protien  contents,  and  value  them  worth  two  and  a  half 
times  as  much  as  bran.  We  enclose  you  a  report  of  analysis 
by  Prof.  E.  H.  Farrington  (late  of  Illinois  Experiment 
Station). 

Estimated  digestible  (per  100  pounds)  protien  3.00, 
carbo  1.45,  fat  1.75;  ratio  1:6.1.  Planted  May  20th,  1895. 
This  sample  cut  Sept.  14th.  The  crop  weighed  13  tons  and 
560  pounds  per  acre.  Total  cost  from  seed  into  silo,  $7  per 
acre,  or  less  than  60c  per  ton.  Feed  value  26,560  ponnds 
divided  by  365  days  in  the  3^ear  gives:  green  feed  (pounds) 
76.68;  dry  substance  23.28;  protien  2.18;  fat  1.27— ratio  1:6.1 
— for  each  day  in  the  year,  and  a  feed  for  one  cow,  and  sup¬ 
port  one  cow  for  each  acre.  Grown  on  prairie  land  that  has 
been  cropped  50  years  and  manured  twice  only.”  This,  of 
all  the  reports  we  have,  is  the  most  remarkable,  because  of 
the  great  yield  on  such  land.  We  trust  Messrs.  Davis  Bros, 
will  pardon  us  if  we  give  their  post  office  address: 

Davis  Brothers,  Fairfield,  Wayne  County,  Illinois. 

From  the  Louisiana  Experiment  Station  about  curing 
for  hay:  “In  curing  for  hay  great  care  should  be  exercised 
to  harvest  as  many  leaves  as  possible,  since  their  loss  depre¬ 
ciates  greatly  their  value  as  food,  and  increases  the  proportion 
of  vines,  which  have  a  superabundance  of  potash  and  conse¬ 
quent  deficiency  of  nitrogen.  This  excess  of  potash  also 
suggests  the  most  careful  pains  in  curing  them,  as  fermenta¬ 
tion  may  develop  nitre  (nitrate  of  potash)  in  the  vines,  wdiich 
may  in  excessive  quantities  have  serious  effects  upon  the 
kidneys  of  work  stock.” 


17 

We  desire  to  emphasize  this  caution.  Undoubtedly  some 
fatal  results  occurred  in  our  county  last  year  from  feeding 
pea  hay.  It  was  the  common  belief  it  would  heat  and  cure 
out  in  the  mow  like  clover.  The  same  applies  to  soja  beans. 
Cure  thoroughly. 

The  six  states,  Louisiana,  Alabama,  Connecticut,  South 
Carolina,  Rhode  Island  and  Arkansas  give  an  average  of  122 
pounds  of  nitrogen,  or  a  value  of  nitrogen  to  each  acre  of 
$18.30. 

The  most  remarkable  report  comes  from  Rhode  Island; 
the  variety  the  black  pea.  The  entire  plant,  tops,  roots, 
seeds  and  all  was  computed  in  this  test  and  the  amount  of 
nitrogen  found  on  this  crop  was  worth  at  market  price  $41.20. 
The  yield  of  vines  was  the  heaviest  reported. 

A  word  of  caution  as  to  seed:  The  New  York  Station, 
Geneva,  N.  Y.,  says:  The  author  emphasizes  the  importance 
of  securing  seed  from  northermost  points  when  expecting  a 
seed  crop  in  the  north.  If  you  want  forage  or  hay  southern 
seed  is  all  right;  but  it  takes  several  years  to  get  to  bearing  a 
full  crop  of  seed. 

Southern  black  eyes,  whipoorwills  and  blacks  will 
mature  part  of  a  crop  of  seed  the  first  year,  a  very  fair  crop 
the  second.  This  county  is  the  greatest  pea  county  north  of 
the  Ohio  river,  and  yet  there  is  but  very  few  home  grown 
seed  for  sale.  The  wet  summer  of  1896  was  disastrous  to  the 
seed  crop,  and  the  price  will  be  high.  The  writer  will  buy 
pea  seed  for  his  own  planting. 

F.  M.  Riley  &  Co.,  Olney,  Illinois,  have  the  crop  of  soja 
beans  raised  on  the  writer’s  farm  in  1896.  They  are  clean, 
pure  seed,  having  been  grown  in  the  north  several  years. 
Ninety-eight  per  cent  of  the  seeds  will  grow.  They  will  also 
have  the  handling  of  a  few  bushels  of  artichokes.  If  you 
favor  them  with  an  order  you  will  be  fairly  dealt  by. 

Don’t  forget  if  you  desire  to  correspond  with  the  writer 
to  enclose  a  stamp.  At  this  season  of  the  year  we  get  a 
great  many  letters  and  the  stamps  are  quite  an  item. 

A  word  about  the  varieties  of  soja  beans  may  be  useful 
to  those  who  may  want  to  buy  seed: 

The  dwarf  is  the  earliest  variety,  growing  about  20  to  24 


i8 

inches  high;  but  the  pods  are  as  thick  as  they  can  stick  from 
the  ground  to  the  top.  They  can  be  planted  28  inches 
between  rows,  and  will  mature  in  about  65  days.  We  had 
but  a  few  bushels  more  than  we  will  plant.  For  seed  this 
will  probably  be  the  most  popular  variety. 

The  “medium”  grows  about  31-2  feet  high,  yields  a 
great  seed  crop.  This  is  the  one  for  main  crop,  or  to  cut 
when  in  blossom  for  hay;  on  good  land  it  will  make  three 
tons  of  dry  hay.  Our  feeding  experience  is  it  is  worth  more 
than  either  clover  or  timothy.  Our  cattle  are  in  better  fix  as 
to  flesh  and  doing  as  well  in  milk  as  they  used  to  do  on  hay 
and  grain. 

The  “big”  is  very  coarse,  does  not  mature  seed  in  this 
latitude;  blossoms  so  late  it  is  hard  to  cure  for  hay.  It  is  a 
great  crop  for  the  silo.  There  is  a  green  seeded  variety  but 
we  do  not  grow  them. 

A  summary  of  this  Pamphlet  is  about  like  this: 

First.  Can  we  afford  to  pay  $20  to  $40  per  ton  for  com¬ 
mercial  fertilizers,  when  for  $1  per  ton  we  can  put  two  tons 
to  one  acre  that  will  leave  your  ground  in  better  shape  and 
worth  more  to  the  ground  than  the  other. 

Second.  To  fertilize  with  beans,  peas  and  clover  will 
pay.  Harvesting  the  crop  and  feeding  it  on  the  farm  will 
pay  as  well  as  a  grain  crop.  The  nitrogen  left  in  the  field 
for  the  succeeding  crop  and  the  rich  manure  is  a  free  gift. 

Third.  This  way  of  fertilizing  is  a  natural,  rational 
way — feeding  the  land  while  it  feeds  you. 

Fourth.  Feeding  these  plants  on  the  farm  is  conserving 
the  fertility  of  the  soil  on  the  farm,  while  selling  grain  crops 
is  depleting  the  soil. 

Fifth.  It  means  pro- gressive,  m-tensive  farming. 

Sixth.  We  believe  barns  filled  with  growing  stock  is 
better  company,  and  will  be  better  for  the  farmers,  than  halls 
filled  with  boodling  politicians.  The  one  hardens  the  heart, 
the  other  softens  it  and  upbuilds. 

TZE3IE  .DB1T3D- 


We  have  for  sale  the  Soja  Bean  crop  raised  by  Dr.  Morris 
in  t/he  season  of  1896. 

J  This  is  raised  from  seed  grown  in  this  county  for  ten 
lyears,  is  thoroughly  acclimated.  Is  free  from  morning  glory 
seed  or  other  foul  seeds. 

To  save  useless  correspondence:  We  will  have  no  black 
or  clay  peas  for  sale  this  year. 

The  wet  summer  of  1896  cut  the  pea  crop  very  short.  A 
few  bushels  of  black  eyes  and  whipoorwill  could  be  had  upon 
early  orders.  The  reason  we  say  this  is  there  is  not  enough 
of  the  two  last  named  to  supply  the  home  demand.  But  the 
farmers  will  not  try  to  buy  until  they  are  ready  to  plant. 

We  think  we  could  get  a  few  for  April  orders. 

Every  farmer  should  sow  a  peck  on  good  dry  land  and 
have  an  abundance  of  seed  for  next  year. 

PRICES: 

Black  Eye  or  Whipoorwill,  strictly  acclimated,  home  grown 
seed,  1  peck,  75c;  1-2  bushel,  $1.35;  1  bushel,  $2. 

Dwarf  Soja  Beans,  “new”  and  very  scarce,  great  seeders, 
per  peck,  $1.35;  1-2  bushel,  $2.50;  1  bushel,  $4.25. 

Soja  Beans  for  main  crop,  1-2  bushel,  $1.50;  1  bushel,  $2.50. 

Artichokes,  French  White,  $1.00  per  bushel. 

F.  M.  RILEY  &  CO., 
Obey,  Richland  Comity,  Dlinois. 


IF 


You  are  not  a  progressive  farmer  you  ought  to  1  c* 
Give  the  philosophy  of  this  pamphlet  a  care^u* 
study. 

IT  ~~ 

Will  tell  you  how  to  change  from  old  ways  of 
farming  that  are  not  paying  and  help  you  to 
adopt  new  ways  that 

15 

Paying  thousands  of  farmers  all  over  the  land  to¬ 
day.  They  had  enterprise  enough  to  get  out  of 
the  old  ruts  and  into  new  and  better  ways  that 
has  made  them  money  and  will  make  you 

MONEY 

and  at  the  same  time  improve  your  soil  so  you  can 
make  money  faster,  and  change  your  condition 
from  a  dependent  into  one  of  /^dependence. 
Take  the  situation  as  it  is  today; 

YOU 

Must  know  you  can’t  continue  in  present  ways; 
you  can’t  quit  farming,  there  is  nothing  else  you 
can  do  any  better  at.  You 

WANT 

A  ray  of  hope  and  confidence.  Hope  and  confi¬ 
dence  will  be  father  and  mother  to  a  new  family 
of  bright  children  who  will  be  named  Zeal, 
Energy,  Pluck,  Perseverance,  Peace,  Con¬ 
tentment,  Plenty,  Happiness,  Joy,  and 
Prosperity. 


